Resequencing of Black seed cultivar and White seed cultivar in crisphead lettuce. Lactuca sativa var. crispa

In lettuce, seed color is broadly classified as white, black, and yellow. The white seed trait is not uncommon and is present in important cultivars, such as cv New York. Having black colored seeds is the wild-type trait observed in Lactuca serriola L., a wild lettuce species distributed all over the world. Since many white seeds varieties are available in database, we suppose that the varieties were bred by artificial selection. Black seed has the disadvantage of being difficulty identified on the soil, but white seed has the advantage not only of being easily identified on the soil, but also of distinguishing F1 hybrids easily from selfed progenies. We performed resequencing to detect variants between the black seed and the white seed trait. The purpose of this study is to lay a foundation for intentional breeding methods by taking advantage of the easily recognizable trait of white seed in lettuce.